In 1567, anticipating Ottoman attacks, the Venetians decided to replace the medieval Lusignan city walls. Giulio Savorgnano and Franceso Babaro were the engineers in charge of the splendid new walls and bastions in the shape of a star with eleven spikes. It featured innovative Renaissance fortification elements, such as gates positioned in the shadow of protecting bastions, and more solidly upper parts designed for better absorption of canonball impact. For technical and strategical reasons, a significant number of churches, palaces and buildings inside and outside of Lefkosia were dismantled in the course of the walls' erection. Additionally, the Pedieos River's course was diverted from its previous course through the city, thus making it flood the fortification's moat.

Alas, the amazing structure did not serve its original purpose, and Lala Mustafa Pasha's Ottomans took the city in 1570. Damage of the walls were minimal, as in centuries to follow, until the British partly upset its original harmony. Today, Nicosia's walls and its three gates - Porta San Domenico (Paphos Gate), Porta Guiliana (Famagusta Gate), and Porta del Proveditore (Kyrenia Gate)- remain widely intact. However, an undisturbed walk along their lentgh is prevented by the current political and military partition of Nicosia.